JERSEY CITY – The Washington Post has announced its rankings of the most academically "challenging" schools in the country and McNair Academic High School in Jersey City has been ranked at No. 3 for the state of New Jersey, 5th in the northeast region, and 73rd nationally. McNair, a magnet school, is often highly ranked on lists of best public schools.

The Post ranked more than 1,900 schools on its America’s Most Challenging High Schools list. McNair Academic, which is located downtown on Coles Street, has ranked among the top 10 schools since 2010.

The ranking is determined through an index formula that is based on the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests given at a school each year, divided by the number of seniors who graduated last year.

McNair Academic has also been recognized as a Reward School by the New Jersey Department of Education for its school-wide proficiency, subgroup proficiency, and high graduation rates.